Folkestone Beacon Plus, Folkestone
Folkestone Beacon Plus is a special school for pupils aged 18 to 25 in Folkestone. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2025)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Folkestone Beacon Plus in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Folkestone Beacon Plus are Compass Community School Coastal Park (0.4 miles, Good); The Beacon Folkestone (0.8 miles, Outstanding); Elms School (5.3 miles, Good); and The Sallygate School (6.3 miles, Good).
Compass Community School Coastal ParkThe Beacon FolkestoneElms SchoolThe Sallygate School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Folkestone Central Rail Station, about 730 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).
17 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Middelburg Square, 100 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Folkestone Beacon Plus stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 490 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Kent (101), as is usual near a town centre.
Sources: NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Source: Ofsted, further education and skills inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Staff create a respectful and safe environment where young people thrive and develop genuine employment skills through real work placements. Teachers are passionate and highly skilled at breaking down barriers to learning, using clear explanations and thoughtful pacing to help each learner succeed. The college has an excellent track record of supporting almost all students into sustained jobs or further learning after they leave.
Key Strengths
- Outstanding behaviour and personal development - learners display professional attitudes and take responsibility for their learning
- Highly effective teaching with clear explanations, good pacing, and strong subject knowledge that helps learners apply skills in real situations
- Excellent work placement support and careers guidance leading to almost all learners moving into sustained work or learning
- Strong safeguarding culture with learners understanding healthy relationships and well-being
- Ambitious, well-designed curriculum aligned with local employment opportunities
Areas for Improvement
- Improve quality and consistency of written feedback so learners clearly understand how to improve their work
- Ensure the right English and mathematics qualifications are selected for each learner to help them achieve their best
- Monitor impact of recent curriculum changes in English and mathematics on achievement rates
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with learners taking safeguarding seriously and knowing what actions to take if they have concerns.
Extracurricular Activities
Work placements in catering, education and horticulture, community cafe business project, sexual health and wellbeing education
Folkestone Beacon Plus is a small independent specialist college in Kent providing education and training to young people aged 18 to 25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The college was rated as Good overall, with Outstanding ratings for behaviour, attitudes, and personal development.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 3 nearby schools
Keep up with Folkestone Beacon Plus
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Folkestone Beacon Plus from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Folkestone Beacon Plus is in Kent; for families living there:
Apply to Kent for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 66
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 13
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 66 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 13 serious and 52 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
11 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Kent is 11 (the median across 711 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Folkestone
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Folkestone
Across Kent council
Places available
19,539
Applications
18,644
Got 1st preference
78.9%
Got preferred school
96.2%
All secondary applications across Kent council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(2)
Special educational needs provision
Folkestone Beacon Plus is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: Get Information about Schools (GIAS), Department for Education.
Questions parents ask about Folkestone Beacon Plus
What is Folkestone Beacon Plus's Ofsted rating?
Folkestone Beacon Plus was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025.
What is the catchment area for Folkestone Beacon Plus?
No fixed boundary. When Folkestone Beacon Plus is oversubscribed, Kent allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Does Folkestone Beacon Plus have specialist SEN provision?
Folkestone Beacon Plus is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Folkestone Beacon Plus?
Apply through Kent's coordinated admissions process, naming Folkestone Beacon Plus on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Folkestone Beacon Plus?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 66 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 13 serious and 52 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 11 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Kent is 11 (the median across 711 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Folkestone Beacon Plus?
Folkestone Beacon Plus is at 16 Bouverie Place, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 1AU.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)